Presuming Competence with Autistic Individuals

Presuming competence with autistic individuals means that they are valued as whole individuals with the right to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. It also includes the right to communicate, the right to be treated age appropriately, to have their views and feelings respected, and to be involved in decisions about their lives. Autistic individuals will need accommodations and supports to be able to live meaningful lives with respect and dignity. The people around them will need to provide the help and guidance.

Presuming competence means assuming an autistic person has the capacity to think, learn, and understand—even if you don’t see any tangible evidence that this is the case. Never assume that the ability to speak equals intelligence or that an autistic person who can’t speak isn’t listening closely to every word you say, or isn’t feeling the emotional impact of your words.

Presuming competence is not an ideology, but rather a philosophical difference. If you start from the mindset that someone is capable and can grow, your actions start to reflect that. We shouldn’t ignore or overlook the challenges a person faces, but give them a chance and help them take that chance in any way we can.

Expectations matter too because the higher the expectations, the more likely we’ll try new things and work to accomplish goals. Presuming competence accepts a desire for growth and development. If we have low expectations, then why would someone strive to do more? They are meeting expectations already. Frame expectations positively by saying, “You haven’t achieved your goal yet – it’s a work in progress.” Children know when you don’t believe in them which will affect their progress. Start small with manageable tasks and build from there.

Why is it important to presume competence?

Let’s start with this question – what will happen if we assume someone is competent with an activity, skill or task and we’re wrong? The answer is we may have to take a step back and build a prerequisite skill.

What happens if we presume incompetence and we’re wrong? The answer to this question is more serious because the autistic individual is probably frustrated and demonstrating behaviors of concern. Expectations have been lowered which can affect a person’s future. Inclusive education consultant Cheryl Jorgensen says, “Our judgments about students’ intellectual capacities affect every decision we make about their educational programs, their communication systems and supports, the social activities we support them to participate in, and the futures we imagine.”

Keep in mind that you can always go back and simplify things if need be, but it’s much harder to reclaim lost opportunities once they have passed by.

How can we presume competence?

1. Speak Directly to the Person and in an Age-Appropriate Manner – Presume that everyone can understand what is being said, don’t talk down to the autistic person, and never use baby talk or speak with a baby voice.
2. Avoid Using Labels Like High and Low Functioning – Autistic people have splinter skills, meaning they are very good at some things and need help in other areas. There is no official diagnosis of autism that includes functioning labels. The DSM-V addresses the level of support needed. The term high functioning is often used for intelligence or verbal individuals and the low functioning label is used for people who are non-speaking or thought to be of lower intelligence. These labels are inaccurate and dehumanize a person.
3. Include Everyone in Conversations – Autistic people may need more processing time to listen and respond. Look for clues that a person is trying to communicate and acknowledge them. Use communication supports such as AAC or visual supports to help them be part of the conversation.
4. Include the Person in Life Decisions – Honor an autistic person’s goals, dreams, wishes, and interests. Include them in all transition meetings and decisions about their lives. Provide choices for them and make sure all planning is person-centered.
5. Use Age Appropriate Supports and Materials – A Time-Timer watch or app may be more appropriate for an adult that a Time Timer. My adult son no longer has a visual schedule – he uses a day planner instead.
6. Ask for Permission to Share Personal Information, Pictures or Videos – Most of us share aspects of our lives on social media, but we should ask permission before sharing something about someone else. The internet lives forever. If your child has their own social media accounts one day, they will be able to see previous posts from you.
7. Always Ask Before Providing Assistance – Ask the individual first if they need help before jumping in to do so. Don’t assume the person can’t do something.

Why is presuming competence needed for true inclusive education?

Cheryl Jorgensen says inclusion should not be a practice but should be a transformational educational philosophy based on social justice principles, where the first tenet is that all students are presumed competent. This means that teachers assume that all students can participate in an age-appropriate general education curriculum as well as form meaningful relationships. Even if a student has complex needs requiring additional help to achieve the same goals as typical students—aides, learning tools, accommodations during assessments – there should be no prerequisites, especially regarding communication.

Jorgensen developed seven reasons why presuming competence is essential.

1. Expectations matter: When teachers set appropriate learning goals for students and expect growth, they treat students in a different manner than if they expect them to fail.
2. Traditional assessments are flawed: These assessments measure and show what students can’t do right at that moment rather than what they could do with the proper supports.
3. Science without value causes harm: History shows that making decisions with the science at hand today without values can be dangerous to students’ education, such as institutionalizing students with disabilities.
4. Research on access to communication: Research also shows that when students have a reliable means of communication, the initial assessments of intelligence have often been proved wrong.
5. Presuming competence leads to more options in school and after: In the Individualized Education Program (IEP), parents and students should share their vision of the future to help teachers form individualized learning goals.
6. Presuming incompetence could be harmful, especially if the educator is wrong: To guard against this, IEPs should focus first on a student’s strengths and not solely on the disabilities.
7. Presuming competence is the least dangerous assumption because the consequences are not as dangerous as the alternative.

Cheryl Jorgensen has a webinar called Inclusion is More than Just Being In if you wish to learn more about this topic.

The Mistake I Made with My Son

I made a competence error with my son about his reading ability when he was a teenager. I presumed he couldn’t read at a higher level because of his comprehension and speech level.

I quite inadvertently discovered that Marc could read at a much higher level when I bought an audio book called Priceless Memories by Bob Barker, host of the Price is Right. At age 15, Marc took it off the shelf on his own and began to listen to it. He was enraptured by Bob Barker’s speaking voice and stories. When he was finished with 7 hours of listening, he began listening to it again the next day. I decided to get the hard cover book and give it to him to see if he’d follow along – he did, perfectly, with not one page turning error.

I kept on with this method of teaming the book on CD with the print book for the next 7 books that he read. Then, Marc turned off the CD and began to read aloud with fluency. He never wanted an audio book again. To this day, he reads at least one adult non-fiction book a week aloud to himself. Every afternoon and evening has at least one hour devoted to reading. Marc often gets the ideas for the books he wants to read from watching old Oprah shows on You Tube as her guests often talk about a book they’ve written.

Marc’s love of reading has lead him to enjoy going to museums and art galleries because he loves to read the descriptions. Audio guides increase his interest and attention span because he can listen to the spoken word and follow along in print. This activity has transferred over into watching documentaries on subjects like animals, insects, celebrities, nature, ships, lighthouses…and the list grows weekly. His confidence continues to grow!

In Conclusion

Presuming competence is a basic human right that supports autonomy. It’s more than believing that a person is competent of thoughts, ideas, and learning. It is also the practice of making sure that all people have the right to talk about what they want, even if it’s not the topic we planned.

Presuming competence gives individuals a chance to explore, grow, develop, and make mistakes. It gives them time to learn with support rather than testing or criticism.  When you presume competence, you give the person a safe place to fail and the ability to learn from those small failures and try again. Confidence comes from overcoming challenges and gives people the courage to keep trying, moving forward, and building skills.

References

eSchool News (July 3, 2018). Why Presuming Competence is Essential for True Inclusion. edWeb.net

Presuming Competence in Autism. TACA

Stimpunks Foundation. Presume competence. Never assume that the ability to speak equals intelligence.

Stout, A. (July 9, 2020). Presuming Competence: What Is It and Why Is It Important? The Autism Site Blog